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| Mesut Özil put the ball onto the Bayern net - with help from his elbow |
As revenge for that unexpected defeat for Pep Guardiola’s side in London a fortnight ago, this was as comprehensive as it comes. And in the pursuit of instant payback it helped the home side that Arsenal were so frustratingly poor, defensively in disarray. As it is probably not termed here, the Gunners were at their bratwurst.
There had been no protest by the Arsenal fans ahead of this game. No arriving in their seats five minutes after kick-off, no flourishing of banners in perfect grammatical German insisting that without fans football is not worth a Euro. No mirroring, then, of the Bayern fans’ irritated complaints about the extravagant cost of watching their side at the Emirates last month.
Sure, there was a lot to moan about afterwards – an awful lot on what turned out to be a wretched night in which involvement in the next stage of the Champions League was put in serious jeopardy – but at least they were not being ripped off for their misery. Unlike the £64 charged for the Bayern fans when they came to London, the Arsenal followers paid just €30 (less than £22) for their tickets.
And once inside the cavernous concrete bowl of the Allianz Arena, everything was equally convivially priced. The concourse running under the stand was lined with food outlets and bars offering local delicacies like currywurst and chips at just over a fiver, to be washed down with a pint of lager at a mere £2.60. Just a pity Uefa put a dampener on things by insisting at Champions League games that such tipple has to be non-alcoholic. Another reason, surely, to boo that self-congratulatory anthem of theirs.
This is the place to watch football all right, a stirring cauldron of noise, excitement and – from one team at least – brilliant entertainment. And there was warning before kick-off of what lay ahead for the visitors when the stadium announcer read out the name of one of the Bayern substitutes. Arjen ‘Mr Wembley’ Robben he was called, a soubriquet earned after his match winning performance in the Champions League final during a more productive Bayern visit to London than the one a fortnight ago. For £22, we English were being told, you can watch a side so good Mr Wembley is on the bench.
So it turned out. For the visiting supporters, the warm glow of finding a bargain lasted all of nine minutes. Then reality bit. Bayern did what they couldn’t at the Emirates, they quickly converted possession into proper threat, when Thiago Alcantara conjured up an irresistible chance for Robert Lewandowski. The Pole does not miss open goals, particularly when gifted time enough to light a cigar by the Arsenal back line. He duly scored for 24th time this season.
This, it was immediately clear, was going to be the pattern of a most uncomfortable night for the Gunners. Lacking the pace of Hector Bellerin, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, they looked so slow and ponderous you wondered if Louis Van Gaal had been surreptitiously installed as coach. As snappy and determined as they had been at the Emirates they were lethargic here.
And things only got worse when first Thomas Muller wrapped his foot round a loose ball in the middle of the area to score a second, then David Alaba snapped the ball away from Santi Cazorla and thumped a shot beyond Petr Cech from 30 yards. 3-0 down at half-time, that £22 was beginning to hang heavy. And there was no point heading to the bar hoping for something alcoholic to wash away their misery. When the fourth and fifth goals came, the evening threatened to turn into a mickey-taking exercise.
This was revenge all right. Vengeance for Arsenal’s presumption in the first game. Retaliation for charging £64 to watch that Emirates smash-and-grab raid. As each goal went in, there was a sense of the proper order of things being restored. Arsenal, the perpetual European underachievers, put in their place by Champions League aristocracy. In readiness for their weekend North London derby encounter, Arsenal fans concluded their evening noisily chanting about how much they hate Tottenham. For £22, clearly they felt they had paid for the right to find some pleasure. However fleeting.
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| Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring a brilliant consoloation goal |
Sure, there was a lot to moan about afterwards – an awful lot on what turned out to be a wretched night in which involvement in the next stage of the Champions League was put in serious jeopardy – but at least they were not being ripped off for their misery. Unlike the £64 charged for the Bayern fans when they came to London, the Arsenal followers paid just €30 (less than £22) for their tickets.
And once inside the cavernous concrete bowl of the Allianz Arena, everything was equally convivially priced. The concourse running under the stand was lined with food outlets and bars offering local delicacies like currywurst and chips at just over a fiver, to be washed down with a pint of lager at a mere £2.60. Just a pity Uefa put a dampener on things by insisting at Champions League games that such tipple has to be non-alcoholic. Another reason, surely, to boo that self-congratulatory anthem of theirs.
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| At least the travelling Arsenal fans were not ripped off |
So it turned out. For the visiting supporters, the warm glow of finding a bargain lasted all of nine minutes. Then reality bit. Bayern did what they couldn’t at the Emirates, they quickly converted possession into proper threat, when Thiago Alcantara conjured up an irresistible chance for Robert Lewandowski. The Pole does not miss open goals, particularly when gifted time enough to light a cigar by the Arsenal back line. He duly scored for 24th time this season.
This, it was immediately clear, was going to be the pattern of a most uncomfortable night for the Gunners. Lacking the pace of Hector Bellerin, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, they looked so slow and ponderous you wondered if Louis Van Gaal had been surreptitiously installed as coach. As snappy and determined as they had been at the Emirates they were lethargic here.
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| Robert Lewandowski scores the first goal of a miserable evening for Arsenal |
And things only got worse when first Thomas Muller wrapped his foot round a loose ball in the middle of the area to score a second, then David Alaba snapped the ball away from Santi Cazorla and thumped a shot beyond Petr Cech from 30 yards. 3-0 down at half-time, that £22 was beginning to hang heavy. And there was no point heading to the bar hoping for something alcoholic to wash away their misery. When the fourth and fifth goals came, the evening threatened to turn into a mickey-taking exercise.
This was revenge all right. Vengeance for Arsenal’s presumption in the first game. Retaliation for charging £64 to watch that Emirates smash-and-grab raid. As each goal went in, there was a sense of the proper order of things being restored. Arsenal, the perpetual European underachievers, put in their place by Champions League aristocracy. In readiness for their weekend North London derby encounter, Arsenal fans concluded their evening noisily chanting about how much they hate Tottenham. For £22, clearly they felt they had paid for the right to find some pleasure. However fleeting.
Source: Bloom Sports, New Telegraph, UK
